Androni Iraola fears one ‘ridiculous’ Nottingham Forest stat ahead of Saturday’s Bournemouth clash

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Nottingham Forest travel to Bournemouth on Saturday, in a meeting between two of the Premier League’s most in-form sides.

Forest are on an incredible run of eight games without defeat, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side winning seven of those games and only drawing to league-leaders Liverpool.

Bournemouth, on the other hand, are equally flying having not lost in ten Premier League games, leaving them in seventh in the league table.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	22	13	5	4	33	22	11	44
4	ChelseaChelsea	22	11	7	4	44	27	17	40
5	Man CityManchester City	22	11	5	6	44	29	15	38
6	NewcastleNewcastle	22	11	5	6	38	26	12	38
7	B’mouthBournemouth	22	10	7	5	36	26	10	37
8	Aston VillaAston Villa	22	10	6	6	33	34	-1	36
9	BrightonBrighton	22	8	10	4	35	30	5	34
10	FulhamFulham	22	8	9	5	34	30	4	33

Coming off the back of last Sunday’s win over Southampton in which Elliot Anderson scored his first goal for Forest, the Forest manager will go into the trip down to the south coast with relative confidence, despite Bournemouth’s form.

Equally boosted by Murillo signing a new Forest contract, the team will have nothing to fear away from the City Ground. However, their opposition manager, Androni Iraola, has picked out a particular aspect of Forest’s excellent season that has him worried ahead of Saturday’s clash.

Androni Iraola wary of Nottingham Forest’s ‘ridiculous’ away form

Speaking to the press before welcoming the Forest squad to the Vitality Stadium, Iraola was quick to share his amazement at the ability of Espirito Santo’s side in recent weeks.

He said: “It’s going to be a very difficult match for us. They [Forest] are coming from seven wins and one tie against Liverpool so basically they are the most in-form team in the league.”

More specifically, though, Iraola was in awe of the Forest coaching staff’s ability to get results away from home, saying: “Away from home, their numbers are, for me, ridiculous.

“They’ve won I think seven games and only lost two at [Manchester] City and Arsenal away so we will have to be very, very good to beat them.”

Iraola is not wrong to point out Forest’s remarkable away record, with wins at Brentford, Everton and Wolves backing up Forest’s away win against Manchester United since the losses to City and Arsenal.

However, Iraola was not done there when it came to praising his weekend opponents, with a particular area on the pitch catching his eye most of all.

Nottingham Forest’s ‘elite’ defence praised by Androni Iraola

Continuing to preview Saturday’s clash, Iraola made a special point to wax lyrical about Forest’s defence this season, recognising that his side will struggle to break it down.

Iraola said: “Defensively, they are elite. Elite, absolutely elite. You see the goals they concede, even when they are playing a little bit lower they don’t suffer. […] Every stat you check defensively they are very good.”

Goalkeeper Matz Sels has played a key part in the Forest defence, with Arne Slot praising Sels for his role in ensuring Liverpool didn’t leave the City Ground with three points.

The previously mentioned Murillo has also been a contributing factor, whilst Nikola Milenkovic’s arrival from Fiorentina took the backline to new heights.

Of course, Forest will need to show an attacking threat to beat the ever-impressive Bournemouth but Iraola’s comments on Espirito Santo’s team suggest a concern about the Forest defence that he may not have the answers to.